Cedar Springs Invitational

Calvin Christian came in prepared to defend their title at the Cedar Springs Invitational, and they did just that. Last year’s runner-up Covenant Christian ran a strong race as well, but we out performed them to take their place on the podium. Looking at Covenant Christian’s times, I knew we had a good chance of taking second place today, but I didn’t want that to be the focus. I wanted the girls to look to compete and to take the opportunity to challenge themselves in different ways, so they can learn more about themselves and continue to develop as competitors. However, I couldn’t help myself, and told them shortly before the race that we had a really good shot at taking second, if we beat Covenant Christian. I reminded them that every person is a point (so to speak), but I said, but if you beat out a Covenant Christian girl, it was bonus points.

It was a beautiful, sunny morning, and the heat was starting to creep in, but it was still pretty manageable. I was hoping for a cooler morning, but you take what you are given. The girls didn’t seem impacted by the slowly increasing heat, and went to work! Not surprisingly, the fleet of foot sophomore, Jessica Durkee (20:34) led our team. She started smart and stayed strong through the woods and fields of Cedar Springs course to finish second, to Calvin Christian’s powerhouse leader, Catherine Cortman. Following only a little over a minute later was senior Audrey Meyering (21:36) earning critical points for us. Next was freshman Maddie Nagel (21:48) who ran a personal best and broke through the 22-minute barrier in strong fashion! Sophomore Kendall Snyder (22:03) ran a solid race and stayed strong four our team. Freshman Lucy VanDemark (22:44) dealt with cramping issues from as early as mile one, but toughed in out with her team in mind, and had a solid finish for us. Freshman Lindsey Velting (22:54), and senior Elizabeth Meyering (22:56) finished really close to each other in a sprint battle in the last 100 meters with Covenant Christian’s Ella Rus doing her best to break them up, but Meyering edged her out at the line.

The junior varsity race started with the heat reaching its peak. It was quite hot at the start of their race, but again, they put it on the line. Freshman Emma Thompson (23:59) led the way for us, and matching her personal best time. Sophomore Kelsey Smith was in the midst of a strong showing, and in spite of her strong mind and spirit, the heat and humidity stoked the fires of her asthma, and she was forced to step off the course for health reasons. I’m thinking being in Kelsea’s situation would be like racing while breathing through a straw. She’s a tough nut, but I’m really glad she made the right choice. Junior Haven Beyer (24:26) ran really well and looked really strong. It was fun to see her racing this well and earning yet another personal record. Senior Gracie DeWent (25:09) finished next after giving what she had over a hot course. Spaniard Clara Argenta-Laorga (25:10) was gettin’ after it, and ran herself to a personal record on the day. I think she will go under 25 minutes in the next couple weeks. After dealing with calf issues the past two weeks, junior Megan Bargy (26:04) had herself a race and scored a season best time, and looked really strong. Next was sophomore Olivia Landry (28:47), didn’t have her fastest time, but seems to be working back toward her season best from the first race of our season after battling her own injury issues. Senior Kristina Cuison (29:47) closed out for our team with a season best time, which was great to see, especially after having had to deal with knee issues the past week. 

Both the varsity and jv girls ran tough today, and I’m really proud of them all. I have high hopes for them toward the end of the season, as do they, and although I think still have work to do,we’re heading in the right direction.